Writing a good ending

While procrastinating pondering on the ending of my new book The Devil Seam I’ve chosen to do a lot of things I wouldn’t normally do (washing clothes, vacuuming floors, repainting a wall here and there, staring blankly at the sugar cane flowers, watching the weeds grow) – you know, the sorts of things that help put off the inevitable.

View from the veranda – the sugar cane in flower!

View from the ground looking up – yikes it’s tall!

Watch those weeds grow! Don’t leave your vehicle parked in my yard for too long or nature will reclaim it.

I spend a lot of time thinking about the ending of my novels because I absolutely love a good ending. I also believe if someone is going to invest time and money to read a book, I really think they should get bang for their buck and feel like they’ve been thoroughly entertained when they read those last words. My greatest satisfaction is the thought of someone getting to the end of one of my stories and saying ‘WOW!’

There are about three good scenarios to end The Devil Seam and I’m trying to decide which one I should use.

In the meantime, the indecision on the ending is distracting me so much that I decided to set it aside for a few days and spend some time putting excerpts of my other novels on Goodreads and WordPress. They are only one or two pages long so if you’ve got a moment feel free to have a read.

Do you like a good ending in a movie or book? Do you find it hard to write endings, or do you start at the end and work backwards?

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119 Comments

I love a good ending. I’ve been known to throw a novel against the wall if the author drops the ball at the end – of course, that all ended with the advent of Kindle. Oh well. I usually know the ending of my books and stories before I get there but sometimes the characters surprise me with the way they take over and have their own say about things. Good luck with your three choices.

Thanks, Francis. I usually have an ending in place but sometimes the characters take over (which is what has happened here). I totally understand the ‘throwing against the wall’ scenario (lol) – not with the kindle though! 😉

Most times I know the beginning and the end of my stories, it’s the middle that gets me lol
I do love a great ending in a book or movie. Even serial books I think should have good endings, I like when a book can stand on its own, even if in a serial. I hate cliff hangers and then have to wait a year or two for the next book. Very irritating.

I find the same with TV a series. It’s frustrating getting to the end and saying ‘nooooooo!’ particularly when it’s the season end of the series and you have to wait months. This is the reason I avoid serial books (I’m too impatient). I think sometimes I’m the only person on earth who won’t pick up a serial book 😉

I start writing with a vague idea for a story and go from there. I never know what’s going to happen in the story and once had to threaten to kill off all my characters and find new ones because the current ones were totally silent and not doing anything. And yes, it worked! I feel as if I’m merely the conduit for the characters to tell their story, so the ending happens when it happens. That being said, I hate dangling endings – I like things neatly resolved.

So far I haven’t had to struggle to find an ending, but I haven’t completed that many novels. But I like to have an idea of how the book will end before I even get started. A better ending may come along, and I can change it if I want, but it helps to have a general idea of where I’m going.

I knew where I was going all the way through the story, but then a character entered and changed what I thought would happen in the end. These damn characters – they’re just out of control sometimes! LOL 😀

A good ending is so much more satisfying than a lackluster one. I don’t mind open-ended endings that are left to the readers imagination as long as all the loose ends have been tied up and the characters are sailing off into the sunset.

An unsatisfying ending makes me sorry I put the time in to read the book (or watch the movie).

I love that you’re giving the ending serious thought and hope you end up with the perfect ending.

I don’t want to put extra pressure on you, Dianne, but a good ending is a make or break decision as to whether or not I purchase the writer’s next book.
I like an ending that makes me feel good. If I want unhappy endings, I just watch the news.
Recently, I wrote a short story where I knew the ending, but nothing before.
Good luck…I’m sure you’ll figure it out and it will be wonderful.
Thanks for posting the sugar cane photos…I just love your photos!

Thanks so much, Jill. The sugar cane flowers have come up very quickly and they make all the fields look so beautiful! 😀

I know what you mean by the good ending (yes – the news can be very depressing). Sometimes I know the ending before I start writing, but this one is causing me a bit of grief because I know only one of the characters needs to come out of this alive, but I’ve got the feeling they both should. Who knows? 😀

You’re not procastinating 🙂 you’re letting the story marinade! I do that All The Time. LOVE your pics 🙂 I love clever endings. That clever twist at the end always seals the deal for me. Also let me just say that Nick Landau sounds like a dish YUM! (yes, I know – I’m a child) and I’ll be joining him on his monster hunt. Your writing is wonderfully evocative!

Awww – thank you my darling. Yes – I like Nick Landau as well (I often fall in love with my leading guys!) I based him on my hubby because he has a very similar past (that would make a good story on it’s own!) 😉

I love good endings, especially the ones I don’t expect! Those are hard to write. I struggle with endings, or maybe just all of it! I do what you do. Just meditate on it and let the story rest for a bit. Best of luck with it, Dianne.

I remember bad or disappointing endings, they really sting. Tim Winton’s The Riders is one that pops to mind, another is Ian McEwan’s A Child in Time (not really the ending there but more the lack of satisfaction in terms of finding out ‘What Happened.’) I don’t mind ambiguity if it works though. And ending doesn’t have to answer all the questions and wrap up with a bow.

I prefer a good ending, one that makes sense but sometimes, as in the notable case of The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, by Maggie O’Farrell, the perceived wrong ending can really work. We read it for book club, universally loved the book and characters but thought the ending ‘wasn’t right’ but a ‘wasn’t right’ that didn’t detract from the book at all… Other reviews I’ve read concur.

I haven’t read The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, but I find it interesting that the perceived wrong ending worked. I feel a bit let down without ‘closure’ or a shock at the end. I guess that’s why I love writing a twist at the end of most of my stories. I’m setting this one a side for a while to let it ‘marinade’ as another blogger put it 😉

Beginnings and endings…soooo important, in life as in writing. Take all the ”marinating’ time you need – it will be worth it. I re-read Island by Aldous Huxley recently, and although it was an excellent ending in many ways, it made me so utterly furious!!! I find it a very hopeful novel in general, but the ending just whips away all that hope right from under you quite unexpectedly. May you find an ending that lingers in the readers mind for all the right reasons:-) Love and hugs, Harula xxxx

You made me laugh start at the end and work backwards, oh you’re serious sorry 😦 all good books should have a wonderful ending, but sometimes the ending can be…meh and I would shake my head and said they could have written a better ending. If the story itself was written well, I can usually forgive though. I wish you luck choosing your ending, I am sure it will be the right one 🙂 so as usual I’m not that much help 🙂 xxx

Nawww, well depending on the ending, as you know me and what I write..all over the shop! I thank you kindly though, have a glorious day in your part of the country. We have grey and rain and the heater is on 😦 xxx

For a book to be good it must have the ending that makes you want to pick up the authors next novel… a good beginning that makes it difficult to put a good book down must have an ending that makes one say “DAMN I didn’t want the book to end!” and that I reckon is what takes you back to seek the next book… only my opinion…

Oh yes Dianne I love a good, satisfying ending with all the i’s dotted and t’s crossed. I find nothing more annoying than being left in the air to make your own mind up about the end. It is as though the author has lost the plot and leaving it to the reader is an easy way out….

Ahhh – very interesting point. I’ve seen this a few times with books and movies and when I’ve reached the end I’ve thought, ‘what the hell was that all about?’ LOL. I wouldn’t like someone saying that after reading one of my books 😉

Dianne you never let us down in the endings department, that’s for sure. If any of your followers haven’t read your short stories collection there are plenty of denouements there that have one laughing with surprise.

I never have a problem with endings. I am not caught up in the idea that the ending needs to wrap everything up neatly–with no loose ends. Life isn’t like that. It frees me up to let the ending be true to the story and characters. It’s a novel, not a sitcom episode.

I do like the fact that pondering the ending (or direction) of a tale give time to keep up with the housework. And, those blooming sugar canes are incredible. We, here in the north, never think about the idea that the canes actually bloom.

For me my perfect ending is one that doesn’t tie everything up. Alice Munro has some beautiful final paragraphs, which almost feel like the beginning of a new story, but also cast some shadow back on what has gone before.

I haven’t written too many endings yet in my short time as a writer, but I recognize how important they are in ensuring the reader is given a satisfying experience. Like some of the other commenters here, I like an ending that ties up all the major story threads, but I don’t mind if some of the subplots aren’t fully resolved as long as all the questions pertaining to the main plot are answered.

I think I’ve got this obsession with endings because I started my writing career with short-stories. You’ve got very few words to play with in a short-story and wowing the readers at the end is as important as pulling them in at the beginning.

Haaaaaa! Oh my dear Char. You just made me laugh out loud! Almost worse than giving birth – that’s what I should have named this post! LOL. I’ll be giggling all day over this comment. Best of luck finding your ending as well my friend xxx

Yes, I cannot ever write a good ending to anything! And I am so pleased to see that you indulge in the same activities I use to procrastinate. We are F-A-M-I-L-Y! Have a great weekend and oh yes, how fortunate you are to be able to watch sugar cane in flower. I am limited to pine and magnolia trees and they grow ever so slowly. 🙂

You are doing the right thing. Your brain will work on it while you play around! I swear. My math teacher used to tell me that – so it must be true, right?
LOL – good luck! It will come to you at just the right time

Just mowed the lawn. My father-in-law walked over and asked me why I was mowing with the push-mower and not the ride-on (it’s five acres). I said I just need to do something physical so I can think. LOL (I think he thinks I’m nuts) 😀

I think the distractions will give your mind a chance to settle on one of the three options you have in mind. Sometimes endings come naturally, other times, I struggle with finding a proper ending. I may not be able to find the right ending sometimes, but I sure can recognize a crappy ending when I read one (an ruin the whole reading experience!)

I just stood head high in those flowering sugar cane, Dianne. Fabulous! 🙂
My life is one long distraction! Whenever I put the laptop on, somebody invites me to ‘follow this link’… and before I know it the time I was going to spend ‘doing’ is gone. No willpower, some folks 🙂 But you always make me smile.

I love a good ending but I will say that a bad ending doesn’t ruin the experience for me. Sometimes I think we need to realize things don’t end the way we want them too and that can happen in a novel as well.

Congratulations on all your success Dianne! Your books sounds fantastic, and well received from the sound of the comments written about them. So true, that a great ending is a wonderful way to end the journey the reader is taken on throughout the book. No doubt, your creativity will bring about the best conclusion, after giving yourself some time away from it for a few days. 🙂

I’ve not written a book yet, but I can well imagine that deciding on the ending must be quite difficult. I do love a good ending to a novel, but if it doesn’t end well, it’s a bit too late to do anything about it, as I’ve already paid for the book and spent a lot of time reading it. 😀 It’s much worse with movies. I absolutely hate it when the ending lets me down after sitting there watching it for two hours or more. 😦
What gorgeous views you have from your house. Have a great weekend. xx

For some reason I’m quite fussy about the way I end my books – it may come from starting my career writing short stories because they “have to” wrap up nicely 😀

Endings in movies are also really important and I feel like I want that time back when a movie ends and I think ‘what was that all about?’ LOL The best ending I’ve seen recently in a movie was The Life of Pi – fantastic 😀

I have a novel in mind which has an ending (but that’s as far as it’s got, haha)

My husband bought me the entire collection of the ‘Breaking Bad’ series, and I’m so enjoying it. I’m fascinated at how they come up with the content of each episode and how they end each one with something unexpected. It’s a really shocking story all round, but so compelling because the writing is so good. I wish I could write like that.

Dianne, i’ve read the excerpts from “Wolfpear” and “Let Sleeping Gods Lie”; i’ve commented there – you are a master, both texts are truly engaging, there is no distance between the reader and the text – it’s
as if the reader is present in the plot, or even becomes one of the characters! Great work! I don’t doubt the newest book will have a breathtaking ending too! Btw, i don’t believe in procrastination in writers – i believe we are waiting for the perfect moment, when all the stars in the sky (and what not ;)) are aligned, so to write that PERFECT ENDING… Oh, and the pics you shared with us – you do live in paradise i must say!
Love,
Lena Ruth

Thank you so much my dear, I love the fact that the stories engaged you. This is what every writer loves to hear (I’m smiling a lot right now!) 🙂

And you are so right about the perfect ending. The stars aligned today and I’ve completely changed the ending and I love it! Had I rushed and gone with the ones I was thinking of last week they wouldn’t be nearly as good. When the universe speaks, I listen 😀

I have a rough idea how the book is going to end it’s just conveying it and making sure I time it right. I got stuck into it again today and if I keep going the way I am I should finish it tonight! Woo hoo – celebrations (until I start the editing process) 😉

Hi Dianne,
I do SO believe a satisfying ending is important. I couldn’t believe it when I read this post. I am sitting on a novel with three possible endings, and two of which I am torn between. Have considered writing all three and putting out as a choose your own adventure for adults!

LOL! I was thinking exactly the same thing, Naomi! A choose your own adventure would make it a lot easier for me. Best of luck with your endings – I’m still struggling a little, but I’m getting there 😉

I’m stealing your use of the word “pondering”. Also you’re right to think long and hard about the ending. Sometimes it’s the ending that makes or breaks a novel….. also, that’ll teach that van to park there!!!

Thanks so much, Jen. I’ve actually chosen an ending now. I just need to read through the story (haven’t done that yet) 😦 and then I’ll send it to you on Monday if that’s okay – I’d love your thoughts on it! Very much appreciated 😀

Endings are tough. I struggle with making them good without making them too neat. I hate it when I read a book and absolutely everything gets tied in a little bow at the end. I want the end to feel real, and when resolution is 100%, it doesn’t. That never happens in life.

Cleaning is a great source of inspiration! Washing up is one place I get a lot of ideas, and endings tend to just appear out of this kind of musing. I’m pretty frustrated with myself though, because the best ending I ever came up with is for a manuscript I stopped writing. It’s still sitting there in the recesses of my laptop, poking fun at me.

I can’t bear an ineffective ending: I’ve really enjoyed some books only to find the ending so frustrating that I’ve never wanted to read them again. I like to know the ending before I start writing any stories – long or short – as it works like a lodestar navigating me through the story. When it’s missing, I lose my way!
Glad you’ve got an ending you’re happy with now 🙂